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Orphaned lab litter question/ rant???.

Some followed my post and pics of the orphaned yellow labs I had recently. Well I pre sold pups so they would be gone at 7 weeks etc as I have in the past. I had some sold and the sire owner said he had a few folks wanting one as well. Due to hand raising pups and health concerns and vet telling me maybe I could save half the litter I didn't take deposits. I kept in touch with sire owner since he wanted pic of males and due to hand raising them I said I would pick the healthiest one and give him great attention if some don't look so good.

He had told me he had a guy wanting a female and one wanted a male pup. I said that's fine if enough make it and I have them then so be it.

Anyone that has hand raised 4 day old pups knows what I went through. Every 3 hours feeding, peeing, pooping pups means no sleep.

Fast forward to week 6. I now have 7 of the 9 pups. Lost one to unknown causes and the other to pleural effusion in which I spent 400 bucks trying to save.

This is where it goes south....... Contacted sires owner again to make sure pups were still spoken for etc cause they were about home ready. He tells me the guy wanting female has backed out. But now the guy that originally wanted male pup wants to change to female pup. I told him that wasn't how litters were sold that if I had taken deposits the guy backing out would have lost deposit and guy that wants to change pic would be at the back of the line and should lose deposit as well since I had turned several people down since at the time all pups were spoken for. He assures me the guy wanting to switch pick will be pissed and will back out on male pup he originally was down for. I asked him to please let me know within24 hrs if he was backing out so I could sell it. He did not. I text him female and male pup were sold but still had his pup to let me know when he wanted to pick him up.

I got a call from him while at dinner with some friends being called a pos and sorry individual and that my name was going to be drug through the mud etc. He even got some guy on the phone to explain to me how I was supposed to sell my litter!!!!! That you sell on a pick basis, not sex basis. Funny I specifically asked which sex they wanted as I did everyone. I can't sell what I don't have. Even so that guy wasn't near the top of pick list anyway.

This has bothered me to know end as I put in every minute and dollar assuring these pups got a fair chance at life and to be spoken to like I was just boiled me over. Thank god I was at dinner!!! I kept my word and gave him the male as bad as I hated to and of course in person he acted like he was a friend etc etc. Can't stand two faced folks.

If this was your litter how would you have handled the situation. From now on I will have contracts. Some people's words just don't cut it anymore.

Maybe I am missing something. You had 2 potential buyers...1 wanted a female/1 wanted a male. Potential buyer that wanted a female backed out...Potential buyer that wanted a male now wants female?

So, let the potential buyer that wanted the male initially have the female that the potential buyer backed out on. That would leave you with one male pup to sell, rather than having 2 to "re-sell".

Since you didn't take deposits, you aren't "out" anything and apparently had back up buyers since you state that you sent a text telling the sire's owner the female and male pup were sold. Making the switch would have saved you from having to get 2 back up buyers, instead of just one.

One problem that I see is that you did not have personal contact with the 2 potential buyers. I assume that you were using whatever information the sire's owner was giving you as to the potential new homes for the pups that you put so much care into with hand-feeding/etc. I always like to have lots of contact with my puppy buyers so that I can find out the home situation, children in the household, future plans for the pup, etc. This helps me in guiding them in the right direction to pick the best suited pup for their situation. I have lived 24/7 with my pups and know each one's "real" personality. Having potential buyers come to see the pups on just one or even a couple of visits may not show them each pup's true personality. (For example, the little alpha female may have been playing rough with her siblings prior to the potential buyer's visit so that when they do arrive, she is tired and therefore not the little rascal as 'normal' for her to be )

Circumstances can change and some potential buyers may have to back out for various reasons. I never get upset when that happens as I would not want to place any of my pups into a situation that was not ultimate for them. I have been fortunate to normally have a waiting list for my pups, so if a buyer needs to back out, I can call someone on the waiting list and let them know I have a pup available for them.

My contract of sale does require a non-refundable deposit. However, there was one time that, due to the circumstances that the potential buyer had to back out, i returned the deposit. I have found with having lots of personal contact with my puppy buyers while the dam is pregnant and during the time the pups are whelped to 7-8 weeks old, there is little chance of being surprised by a back out. This contact also helps me to weed out any potential buyer that I would not want to sell one of my pups to under any circumstance. Yes, I have returned a deposit to someone after having several talks/visits and refused to let them have one of my pups.

So, be glad that you have found good homes for your puppies. That is the most important thing

Last edited by Vicky Trainor; 06-23-2013 at 04:11 AM.

Vicky
RTF Moderatorhttp://www.oakdaleretrievers.com/Remembrance.html "You'll Cry"
____________________________________________
Training is not science, it is art. A blend of this, a measure of that, a deep breath at the appropriate moment and always a loving touch.

I understand your situation was different but maybe you should have gotten some type of deposit. Most definitely direct contact with the person that wants the pups .Yes it would be a lot of extra hard work that went into raising those pups. Cudos to you! Just from observing my friend deal with her females having pups normally it is not as easy as one would think. IMO I am glad they all have good homes.

It's your litter.... Your choice on who gets the pups! You worked hard with them. I might have flipped the guy to the other pup, but if you had someone else interested that you actually knew, I don't blame you for what you did. Don't sweat the small stuff. You did good with this litter!

Its your pups, its your rules.... Sell them how you please! If someone has a problem with that, tell them to pound salt and have a good day! You went above and beyond to raise these pups by hand, then at the end of the day you have buyers who back out then want back in, others who are switching picks...thats not cool! Hopefully all the pups go to good homes and nobody gives you a hard time about it!

I don't think I'd let the guy call me a POS and then sell him a pup! I'd take a loss on the pup before I sold it to that guy. JMO.

I think the pup went to the owner of the sire. that was probably the stud fee. At least that is the way I understood it. It would suck to have to give the guy the pup after the way he talked to the breeder.

I have learned I need these dogs much more than they need me. Tim Bockmon

With me, I want the contract signed, deposit in hand by 2-3 wks old, and I'd like to see the whites of the persons' eyes if they live w/in a reasonable distance or at least talk to them on the phone (plus email) directly. I've had friends, family members, etc, who assured me their parents etc seriously wanted a dog only to find out the party wasn't really ready yet. I've had others that travel so much I didn't feel it was fair to the puppy to be raised by their boarding kennel. Nope, you have to take the time to get to know folks personally! Even so, it's not 100% guaranteed you won't be fooled.

Welcome to breeding... Sorry it didn't go better but it's great you are sharing your stories to make others aware of what can and does occasionally go wrong.

It's your litter.... Your choice on who gets the pups! You worked hard with them. I might have flipped the guy to the other pup, but if you had someone else interested that you actually knew, I don't blame you for what you did. Don't sweat the small stuff. You did good with this litter!

Until sold the pups are your to decide, who, when & $$. Ditto what Susan said.......

I think the pup went to the owner of the sire. that was probably the stud fee. At least that is the way I understood it. It would suck to have to give the guy the pup after the way he talked to the breeder.